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Scott's words surprised both Jacob and Lewis. Neither of them had expected Scott to refuse so directly.
Of course, Scott had his own plans and concerns for making this decision.
Jacob was simply too exceptional now. In the past six months, the achievements Jacob had made in the scientific research field were among the best in all of China, and it was no exaggeration to say that he was the most brilliant Pokémon researcher of the year. Jacob had also been recognized as the youngest Pokémon Doctor.
Additionally, and more importantly, Jacob had another identity: in just six months, he had gone from zero to the National Finals!
Either of these two achievements would be incredibly impressive among his peers, let alone Jacob possessing both at the same time.
Such a genius was not to say once in a thousand years, but at least once in a century.
From the frequent visits of various families recently to arrange marriages, it was clear how popular Jacob had become. Among them were even some people whom Scott could not refuse, which made Scott realize that sometimes being too excellent was not necessarily a good thing.
Behind limitless glory also lay countless risks. As the saying goes, the tallest tree in the forest catches the most wind.
And now Jacob was actually saying that he had a new experimental project that far surpassed Z-Moves. The moment Scott heard this news, he already began to feel worried.
If the Mega Evolution that Jacob described was as powerful as he claimed, and Trainers of the same level - those with Mega Evolution and those without Mega Evolution - were completely different tiers of Trainers, then this new experimental project would definitely bring revolutionary change to Trainer battles.
In this case, Jacob, the Long family, and the Xiao Family, who had collected so many Mega Evolution Stones and Evolution Keystones, would definitely become targets of public criticism.
The Long, and Xiao families alone might not be able to withstand the greedy masses. Scott, who had lived for decades, had long understood an important truth.
Never underestimate the greed in people's hearts. This made Scott consider uniting all possible forces and finding more allies.
The Long, and Xiao families would take the largest share, but others would still need to get some benefits.
The second and third authors of the research paper would undoubtedly be an opportunity to find allies. Jacob could completely use this opportunity to extend an olive branch to other prominent families.
On the surface, it seemed like an opportunity to co-author a paper, but the truth was to reveal some information about Mega Evolution and Evolution Keystones, allowing the people behind them to seize the last few days to quickly purchase some Mega Evolution Stones and Evolution Keystones.
This way, although they did not acquire the first batch of the cheapest Mega Evolution Stones and Evolution Keystones, if managed well, they could still make a small profit in these final days.
"I'll assign two assistants to you. One is Eleanor from the Chi family, and the other is..."
After dealing with the experimental assistants, Jacob immediately rushed back to the Dragon-type Secret Realm to help Dreepy evolve. After that, he also had to rush to the Poison-type Secret Realm to help Gastly evolve into Gengar. His schedule was completely packed.
In the blink of an eye, seven days passed. Jacob not only didn't get proper rest, but was instead busy working non-stop.
Finally, the day before the Frosthollow Province High School Cup finals, the Jewelry Expo was held as scheduled, but Jacob did not have time to attend. At this time, he had already rushed back to Embermere City to seriously prepare for the High School Cup match the next day.
Only then did he have time to study his opponent, Ariana.
From all aspects, Ariana's strength was very impressive, and it was undeniably strong in every way.
First were her two core Pokémon, Shiny Gyarados and Excadrill.
These two Pokémon were not only extremely powerful physical attackers, but their combination could also form an excellent defensive synergy. The Water/Flying-type Gyarados could compensate for the weaknesses of the Ground/Steel-type Excadrill, which could be said to be an excellent pairing.
The third, Hippowdon, could both set up weather for its teammate Excadrill and also set up Stealth Rock, Yawn, Toxic, and Slack Off to assist as a semi-physical wall support.
The fourth, an Intimidate Arcanine, could reduce the opponent's physical attack power. Combined with Hippowdon, it could completely withstand the attacks of physical attackers. At the same time, Arcanine had also learned the move Snarl, which could weaken the enemy's special attack.
The fifth, Sylveon, with its high special defense, compensated for the team's lack of special defensive capabilities. After all, the special defense of the previous few Pokémon was not very high, and it would be difficult to deal with pure special attack teams.
At the same time, Sylveon with the Pixilate ability, combined with the Hyper Voice move, could also slightly compensate for the team's lack of special attackers.
Ariana originally planned to use Hydreigon as her sixth Pokémon, but Hydreigon requires Heavenly King-level strength to evolve. Therefore, she trained a Zoroark instead, and it was a pure special attack-oriented Zoroark, serving as the team's special attacker.
Six Pokémon formed Ariana's team, and she would have different strategic choices depending on different opponents.
Unlike Jacob, who had only sent Noibat, Charizard, and Sceptile into battle so far, with these three always on the field together.
Jacob lay on his bed, seriously thinking about tomorrow's tactics.
The next day.
Embermere City, Embermere Stadium!
"Good evening, audience friends. I'm the host, Julio."
This time, the host was no longer Layne.
Because Layne's commentary style was more entertainment-oriented, and on a grand stage like the finals, a mature, steady, and passionate commentary was more needed.
Julio was also a pillar of Frosthollow TV, having hosted the High School Cup finals for five consecutive years. It was most appropriate for him to host the finals.
"I'm the host, Catalina. Today, we will bring you the High School Cup Frosthollow Province finals."
Catalina was also the most popular female host on Frosthollow TV. At twenty-eight years old this year, she was already the leading female anchor of Frosthollow Province TV. With both beauty and elegance, always radiating confidence and grace, she was the beloved goddess in countless people's hearts.
"First, let's introduce the two finalists. The first is from the upper bracket, undefeated, entering the finals with a champion's stance, Embermere City's seeded player Ariana!"
Accompanied by Julio's passionate voice, Ariana appeared first. Ariana still wore her classic outfit, dressed in the Embermere City battle uniform, with a single ponytail tied behind her, showing the unique youthful energy of young people.
"Ariana! Play well! You've got this!"
"Ah! Ariana! Ah! You're amazing!"
"I believe in you, Ariana!"
The venue erupted in enthusiastic cheers, and the shouts from the stands were deafening. The Embermere Stadium, which could accommodate 40,000 people, was packed to capacity.
As a local of Embermere City, Ariana already had extremely high popularity, and combined with her delicate features and sweet appearance, she was even more loved by people, capturing the hearts of a large number of fans.
At the same time, on the giant screen behind Ariana, her wonderful performances in the previous battles were being displayed. The crimson Gyarados wreaked havoc, sweeping through opponents with its Moxie ability. Excadrill launched fierce attacks from within the sandstorm, Hippowdon set up Stealth Rock, Sylveon used Hyper Voice, and so on. Finally, the screen went black and played the pre-match interview, also known as the trash talk segment.